Today in History, June 28: Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assassination

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1914, on June 28, Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated at the hand of a Serbian terrorist, Gavrilo Princip. His assassination led to the beginning of World War I.

Franz Ferdinand was born in Graz, Austria, on December 18, 1863. The oldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig, who was the younger brother of Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph. Franz Ferdinand was a member of the House of Habsburg, rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Spanish Empire. He began his military career at age 12 and was promoted through the ranks to become a major general at age 31. After the suicide of the emperor's son, Crown Prince Rudolf, in 1889, and his own father's death from typhoid fever in 1896, Franz Ferdinand was groomed to inherit the throne.

In 1894, Franz Ferdinand met Countess Sophia Chotek and the couple fell in love. However, marriage to a Habsburg required that one be a member of a reigning or formally reigning dynasty of Europe. The Choteks were neither. However, Franz Ferdinand refused to marry anyone else, so the couple kept their relationship secret. After Emperor Franz Joseph was informed of the relationship, he refused to give his permission to the marriage. Eventually, several influential European leaders, including Pope Leo XIII, argued on behalf of Franz Ferdinand, stating that the disagreement was undermining the stability of the monarchy. Franz Joseph finally agreed on the condition that no descendants of Franz and his new wife succeed to the throne. The couple married on July 1, 1900.

Austria-Hungary was a polyglot empire of different ethnic groups at odds with each other over religion and politics, and united to a flag that wasn't theirs. The only thing the divergent ethnic people hated more than each other was the House of Habsburg. Archduke Franz Ferdinand's public persona was cold, sharped-tongued and short-tempered. He was also rumored to be insane due to the inbreeding of the Habsburg family. One matter is clear: Franz Ferdinand understood that the empire was disintegrating and that something needed to be done.

At one point, Franz Ferdinand proposed changing the Austro-Hungarian rule with a triple monarchy of Slavs, Germans and Magyars, each having an equal voice in government. However, this idea was unpopular with the ruling elite, further stirring doubts of Franz Ferdinand's sanity. He also considered forming a federal government of 16 states, calling it the United States of Greater Austria. This idea was in direct conflict with the Serbian nationalists who had designs of breaking off with Bosnia and Herzegovina to form an independent state. Though he cared little for their nationalist ambitions, he advocated for a careful approach with the Serbs, warning his military leaders that harsh treatment toward them could cause an open conflict with Russia.

In the summer of 1914, Franz Ferdinand and wife Sophie accepted an invitation to visit the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo. He had been informed of terrorist activity conducted by the nationalist organization the "Black Hand", but ignored the warnings. On the morning of June 28, 1914, the royal couple arrived by train and a six-car motorcade drove them to city hall for an official reception. The archduke and his wife were in the second car with the top rolled back in order to give the crowds a good view.

At 10:10 am, as the motorcade passed the central police station, a “Black Hand” agent, Nedjelko Cabrinovic, hurled a hand grenade at the archduke's car. The driver accelerated when he saw the flying object, and the bomb exploded underneath the wheel of the next car, injuring two of its occupants along with a dozen spectators. Franz Ferdinand is reputed to have shouted in anger to local officials, "So, you welcome your guests with bombs?!" He also reportedly stated, "What is the good of your speeches? I come to Sarajevo on a visit, and I get bombs thrown at me. It is outrageous!"

A furious Franz Ferdinand, after attending the official reception at the City Hall, asked about visiting the members of his party that had been wounded by the bomb. Members of the archduke's staff suggested this might be dangerous, but the governor of Serbia, Oskar Potiorek, replied that he would take responsibility. Nevertheless, the governor decided that the royal car should travel on an alternative route to the Sarajevo hospital. However, he forgot to tell the driver about this decision. On the way to the hospital, he took a wrong turn onto the Latin Bridge, where one of the “Black Hand” conspirators, 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, was sitting in a corner café at the time. The assassin had already abandoned his plans, when he saw the alerted driver began to back up the car right in front of him. He stepped forward, drew his gun, and at a distance of about five feet, fired several times into the car. Franz Ferdinand was hit in the neck and Sophie in the abdomen. Both died before reaching the hospital.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand gave the hardliners in Austria-Hungary the opportunity to take action against Serbia and put an end to their fight for independence. In July 1914, the situation escalated. After demanding impossible reparations and failing to receive them, Austria-Hungary declared war against Serbia. As was expected, the complex web of alliances was activated as Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary, Germany declared war on Russia, and France and Britain declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. World War I had begun.

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Recent Comments

19

Hi Eric, thanks for the history lesson. War is the failure of the political system. Irv.

Absolutely correct! With the politicians we have today, I'm even surprised we don't have more conflicts.
Thanks Irv for the read!

Thanks for reminding. I hope that the history will not repeat again with terrible consequences.
All the best:)

Unfortunately history shows, that history repeats itself.
Thanks Nemira for the read!

Thanks Eric,
I love history and this is a very important part of it.

Thanks Juliet for passing by. I'm glad to see, that you also like history. I publish everyday a post about something in history. Hope to see you again.

Enjoy reading your History lessons, Eric :)

Glad to see, that you like to read my history posts.
Thanks Carol for commenting!

Interesting

Thanks Elizabeth for passing by! I'm glad you found it interesting. I publish everyday a post about something in history. Hope to see you again.

Thanks for the history lesson.

My pleasure Chukuemeka!

The component countries Bosnia and Serbia were at odds as recently as 1990. A good hike from 1900

The region of the Balkans has always be a powder keg. I attached you a map of the Balkans on which you can see Bosnia and Serbia.
Thanks Mike for the read!

A part here and there held on Eric. The region of Vojvodina in northern Serbia which has ethnic Hungarians did not separate!

Correct Mike!

It brings me back in time - no, I'm not that old! - to my meddle school exams, when I took what WW1 for my exams. So, was empress 'Sis' Elizabeth the grandmother of Frank Ferdinand??

Giulia

No, she was his aunt. I attached the family tree of the royal family. On the left you see "Sissi" and in the center Franz Ferdinand. I marked both with red circles.
Thanks Giulia for passing by!

I've been alive for a lot of historical moments, but this was not one of them. Assassination, regrettably, is sometimes preferred to diplomacy. Thank you for the lesson.

You can't be aware of everything. Especially as this one happend long before your were born.
Thanks for passing by, Pablo!

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